The Key Points from the Budget 2021

The Budget is the government's yearly announcement about how it's going to spend the nation's money. Normally there is one Budget each year - this year's Budget speech was delivered on the 3rd of March by the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak.

This year, the chancellor is under pressure to outline plans for dealing with two main issues: deciding how the UK will begin paying off the debts stemming from the pandemic and how we will support the people and businesses who have lost money because of the coronavirus.

Our latest blog has taken a look at the Budget and has summarised some of the key significant changes and decisions that might affect us over the coming year

Extending the furlough scheme

The extension of the furlough scheme is important to millions of people across the United Kingdom. The scheme pays 80% of employees' wages for the hours they cannot work in the pandemic. It has now been extended until September.

The extension of this scheme is important as the country comes out of lockdown and returns to full normality by the end of June. You can find out more about the extension of the furlough here.

Extra £20 a week for those on Universal Credit

Millions of Universal Credit claimants will continue to get a £20 a week uplift to their payments for a further six months.Those on working tax credits will also receive a one-off £500 payment.

Support for the self-employed

Whilst furlough supports employed people the equivalent for the self-employed comes in the form of grants through the Coronavirus Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS).

The scheme has been extended to September 2021. These will be the first payments available to an estimated 600,000 people who missed out on earlier support because they couldn't demonstrate their self-employed status on their tax return.

From next month, claims can be made for a fourth grant worth 80% of three months' average trading profits, up to £7,500 in total.

Stamp Duty holiday extended

The chancellor has now extended the current Stamp Duty holiday in England and Northern Ireland - which means no Stamp Duty is paid on the first £500,000 of a property purchase will now be extended until the end of June. It was set to end this month.

More key information from the budget

• Wine and beer duties frozen
  
  
• Petrol duties frozen
  
  
• More than doubling the legal limit for single contactless payments, from £45 to £100.
  
  
• £100 million for a new Taxpayer Protection Taskforce to crack-down on COVID fraudsters who have exploited UK Government support schemes. You can find our blog on the latest coronavirus scams taking place in the UK today.

You can find all the information on all the measures announced by the chancellor on the Government’s website.

How LCU can help this lockdown

As we head towards the end of lockdown and normality, Leeds Credit Union is also still here to help our members out. We have a range of low-interest loans, savings products and more that can provide you with extra peace of mind with your money.